Community Health Worker Support

Charity information: Tamwed

Need

Many remote rural communities in Tamil Nadu are disadvantaged by the lack of access to basic needs such as health care and education. Tamwed's partner NGO CRUSADE carried out a needs assessment which revealed that only 14% of adults had permanent employment., 13% had latrine facilities and 16% suffered health problems. Tamwed prioritised health as an issue that with a small amount of support, a great difference could be made to the quality of life of low caste and tribal people.

Solution

A year-long pilot project took place to train and support community health workers to raise awareness about issues such as basic hygiene, to identify treatable diseases and to refer cases for further treatment. Each of 10 women, after training, was given the responsibility for training others, running events and campaigns and supporting their communities on health issues. This programme was designed to result in a tangible improvement in health and hygiene.

Aim 1

To assess and address the health problems of 25,000 low caste and tribal people in rural Tamil Nadu.

Activities

» Train and support community health workers who can work on health issues in their villages.
» Run a Homeopathic Medicine clinic to treat diseases at a primary level. » Raise awareness of the proper disposal of household wastes and the recycling of plastic and other toxic materials.
» Promote the need for household sanitation and install toilets.

What success will look like

Success will be measured through an impact assessment survey based on the original, baseline needs analysis data.

Impact

The aim is to improve the health of the targeted communities in the short and long term. improved health will result in improved quality of life overcoming one of the major causes of disadvantage in rural communities. Success will be demonstrated to everyone concerned through the reporting of comparisons in data relating to health and quality of life issues.

Risk

Identified early in the project was the fact that many people were so used to the culture in which they live, they find it difficult to change. therefore toilets, having not been used by previous generations, are considered unnecessary. People are also resigned to ill health as a fact of life. This is the way they live. Our health workers needed to spend more time than we planned in raising awareness before anyone was convinced that improved access to health care is advantageous.

Reporting

We complete quarterly reports for all projects. We pay for the services of a locally-based Project Coordinator who monitors and evaluates projects on our behalf. One of our committee visits projects at least once a year to check on progress. Reports and budgets are accessible on our website.